1. Field of the Invention
This technology relates to oil and gas wells, and in particular to adaptors for clamping connectors in oilfield equipment.
2. Brief Description of Related Art
Conventional adapters for joining tubular wellhead components, such as API hub connectors, have two-piece clamps that are positioned to engage the flanges of the components, and are joined with bolts. The wellhead components may be, for example, a casing or wellhead, and a tubing head. Such adapters are often slow and cumbersome to stall. In addition, such adapters may be unreliable, thereby allowing leakage between the flanges, and raising environmental and safety concerns. Alternative adapters have been developed to overcome the shortcomings of conventional two-piece clamps. For example, some adapters may drive dogs around the flanges to clamp the flanges together. However, many of these adapters require vendor-specific non-standard threads or other features on the components or equipment to which they are applied. This prohibits the use of such adapters with any equipment that is not specifically designed for use with that adapter. This also prevents use of the adapter to retrofit equipment originally supplied by a vendor other than the vendor of the adapter. What is needed, therefore, is an adapter that is more reliable than the conventional two-piece clamp adapter, but that can be used universally with any oil field equipment manufactured by any vendor.